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Description: Oxfam supports communities and organisations around the world that are already developing the tools and techniques that can be used to adapt to global warming. This case study is one in a series th...

Oxfam supports communities and organisations around the world that are already developing the tools and techniques that can be used to adapt to global warming. This case study is one in a series that highlights some of this work to assist programme practitioners in sharing and learning on climate change adaptation. In 2007, after the Yasathorn Province in Northeastern Thailand experienced its longest rainy-season dry spell in decades, Oxfam along with partners Earth Net Foundation decided to take action to safeguard the livelihoods of the region’s farmers. In consultation with farming communities, Oxfam and ENF implemented a one-year pilot climate change adaptation project designed to reduce the negative impacts of climate change on the production of organic jasmine rice. As part of the project, men, women and children were educated about climate change and its potential impacts in Thailand

Oxfam Disaster Risk Reduction and

Introduction
In 2007, farmers in Yasothorn Province, north-east Thailand,
experienced the longest dry spell during a rainy season in decades.
The dry spell, lasting from June until late August, reduced crop yields,
lowering farmers’ income and reducing their food security.
Yasothorn, one of the 10 poorest provinces in the country, is part
of the legendary ‘Weeping Plain’ named after its barren landscape.
The Plain spans five provinces, covering more than 2.1 million rai
(829,500 acres). The Plain’s dry conditions have made it suitable for
growing the world-famous fragrant jasmine rice.
However, statistics from the Meteorological Department suggest that
the dry spell that occurred in 2007 is not a one-off phenomenon,
but part of a gradual trend that has developed in the past decade,
due to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns caused
by climate change. Rainfall records for Yasothorn in the last decade
show that the rains are arriving later and later each year, from a few
days late to many weeks.1
A recent study has confirmed that the phenomenon is real. It shows
that the annual number of tropical depressions in Thailand in the last
30 years fell from 30 to 10; tropical storms declined from 55 to 35,
and typhoons from 70–80 to 45–50.2 The reduction in the frequency of
depressions is significant, because without them tropical storms and
typhoons do not provide enough rain during the dry season.
Almost 90 per cent of people living in Yasothorn Province are Pictured above and below: Planting small
farmers.3 Most farms in Yasothorn are rain-fed, with no irrigation rice plants into the paddy fields.
facilities. Jasmine rice is light-sensitive and has to be grown during
particular months of the year; so when there is no rain, rice plants are
left to wither in the scorching sun.
When seasons start late and rain does not fall, the impact on rice
yields is significant. Combined with rises in temperature, this means
that Thailand’s biggest production hub suffers greatly. Irregular
weather in the form of hot and cold spells also causes pest attacks
on rice crops and fungal disease, reducing the quantity and quality of
the crops.

Month
July-
April May-June October November
September
‘Normal’ Plant Transplant Seedlings flower Harvest
Prepare soil
climate seedlings seedlings and grow jasmine rice
Rain comes
Rain continues
at the end
Little or no even heavier,
Climate now Starts raining of August, Rain continues
rain stops at the end
heavy in
Activity

of November
September
Effects Drought Drought Water logging
Grain quality
Seedlings affected by high
Effects on
wilt, hard to moisture and a
crops
transplant lack of colder,
dry weather
Table 1: Changes in rainfall patterns according to jasmine rice farmers in Yasothorn Province, northeast
Thailand, 2008

Pictured above: An example of one of a
number of integrated farming systems Oxfam takes action
designed and implemented as part of
the programme: Bung-On Phungkit Oxfam has been working with local organisation Earth Net
working in her vegetable garden Foundation (ENF) since 2004, promoting organic agricultural
beside the paddy field. production and fair-trade marketing with farmers in Yasothorn
Province. Compared with conventional chemical-based farming,
organic farming is less dependent on off-farm inputs, requires less
energy, and is more environmentally sound. In 2007, ENF was
working with three farmers’ groups in Yasothorn, consisting of 509
families certified as organic farmers.
A combination of scientific findings and observed changes by
communities and programme staff prompted Oxfam to take action
to safeguard the livelihoods of farmers. In consultation with farming
communities and ENF, Oxfam decided to implement an initial one-
year pilot climate-change adaptation project for organic rice (May
2008 – March 2009). Fifty-seven out of the 509 organic-farming
households decided to join the scheme. They included:
• 20 families belonging to the Bak Reua Rice Farmers’ Group of
Sanam Chai District, Yasothorn
• 25 families from the Nature Care Club,
Kut Chum District, Yasothorn
• 12 families from the Lerng Nok Tha and Thai Chareon Organic
Farming Co-operative.
3

Project objectives:
• Support farmers to recognise and understand the impacts of global
warming and climate change.
• Support farmers with appropriate water-management systems for
their organic farms.
• Promote selected farmers as role models and catalysts for change,
by means of sharing their knowledge and experience with other
farmers in Yasothorn.
• Study the impact of climate change on women.

Of the 285 beneficiaries, 57 were female.
The project also received support from START (Global Change
Systems for Analysis, Research and Training), which provided
technical input on climate-change issues and supervised/commented
on the adaptation process, as well as training project extension
officers to interpret weather forecasts.

Project activities
1. Provision of climate-change information to
farmers; participatory decision making
Men, women, and children were educated about climate change and
its potential impacts in Thailand. Using this information, participants
shared ideas about how they could adapt their farming practices
to cope with these changes, and they designed their own on-farm
water-management systems. In designing these systems, they took
into consideration their own farm sizes, energy-saving opportunities,
and household labour force, making sure that the systems were
convenient for women and children, who are key sources of labour for
rice farming and vegetable gardening.
In addition to designing their own water-management systems, they
discussed how they could adapt to climate change in the longer term,
beyond next year’s harvest, using other adaptation strategies.

2. Provision of loans to project participants
ENF established the Water Management in Organic Agriculture Pictured above: Noograi Sangsri working
Fund, which provided loans of up to 30,000 baht (US$ 880) to each in her paddy fields. The integrated farming
household, to assist in the construction of on-farm water-management systems that were designed as part of the
programme took into consideration the
systems. The loans are offered at low interest rates (1–3 per cent) needs of women by piping water directly
for 1–6 years. The Fund lent money to all 57 project households: into the fields, thereby reducing the
1,400,000 baht (US$ 41,000) in total. amount of time women spend in the field.
4

3. Implementation of on-farm
water-management systems
Among the 57 farm households that took part in the project, the
majority of on-farm water-management systems were constructed
in time for the growing season. In total, 23 stock ponds, 24 wells, 44
water-drainage systems (ditch, sprinkle, pipe), and 14 water pumps
were designed, built, and installed.
Because of the uncertain impact of climate change on rice production,
farmers also diversified their food crops. Many farmers, especially
women, grew vegetables and planted fruit trees as alternative crops,
earning households between 500 to 1,500 baht (US$ 15-40) per
week. Growing vegetables and fruit can provide food and economic
security, a particular concern of women who have to take care of
family members.

4. Farmers as catalysts for change in sharing
knowledge and experience with other farmers
Female and male farmers who took part in the project met with other
farmers and households to share their experiences, in order to help
others to find better solutions to the problems posed by a changing
climate. Several workshops took place, including:
• one on agricultural models and techniques to reduce climate risks;
• three on the impact of climate change on female farmers’ roles;
• three on on-farm product management and seed management for
female farmers;
• one on principles and techniques for sustainable agriculture, and
• one on multiple crops in organic farming systems.

5. Project monitoring and evaluation
To ensure that the project was monitored and evaluated effectively,
on-going and post-project implementation monitoring and evaluation
was conducted, involving both project participants and ENF staff. The
details of monitoring and evaluation activities are as follows:
5

• A meeting to design project-evaluation activities by project
participants and ENF staff.
• The creation of a database with information on 57 households
participating in the project.
“Climate adaptation,
in my opinion, is
• Quarterly meetings of the board of the Water Management in
Organic Agriculture Fund to follow up progress and consider the the ability to be
issues raised by the project. flexible in dealing
• Monthly farm visits by ENF to provide advisory support and with climate shocks.
knowledge exchange. Putting your eggs
• Farm-to-farm visits by project participants to share knowledge in one basket –
and experiences.
or, in agricultural
• Data collection from focus-group discussions, individual interviews,
and questionnaires during and after project implementation. terms, monoculture
• Final report on the one-year pilot project. farming – would
be too risky; but
Key Outcomes integrated farming,
As expected and feared, 2008 saw Yasothorn hit by drought – the for example, is a wise
‘worst in 57 years’, according to, 65-year-old Moon Polchai, a village thing to do because
elder in Kut Chum district. The drought, which began in June and your livelihood is not
based on one crop.”
continued until the end of August, made rice cultivation very difficult.
The problem was exacerbated by rain during the harvesting months,
which drowned many of the rice crops in the low-lying plains that had
Dr Anond Snidvongs, START
managed to survive the drought.

1. Food security
After harvesting it was found that all 57 households were more food-
secure than they had been before the start of the project. Of the
rice, vegetables, meat, and fruits consumed, more than 90 per
cent was grown by the families, and less than 10 per cent
purchased from outside.

2. Reduced decline in rice production
Despite the year’s harsh conditions, 51 out of the 57 programme
participants were able to maintain an output of rice that was at least
sufficient for their own household consumption, with 14 producing
a surplus to sell at market. Only six households suffered losses in
rice yield, because their water systems were not established in time.
Overall rice production fell by almost 16 per cent – in stark contrast to
farms that did not take part in the project, whose production fell by 40
per cent overall.

3. Diversity of crops
Apart from applying appropriate rice-planting and water-management
techniques, programme participants adopted crop diversification as
a way to attain food security and economic security in times of rice-
production uncertainty. Farmers, especially women, planted fruits
and vegetables during and after rice cultivation; the produce not
consumed by their households could be sold at local markets, earning
them around 500–1,500 baht (US$ 15–40) a week. More than 90
different types of plant were grown across the project area, and trees
were used to shade certain plants from the harsh temperatures, with
an apparent improvement in growing conditions.
6

“Even with the
water we have, it
is not enough for
both jasmine-rice
and sticky-rice
cultivation. We
decided to keep
sticky rice for our
family consumption.
Instead of jasmine
rice, we grow
organic watermelon,
vegetables, and
some other fruits
which do not require
much water, for
family consumption
and to sell to the
local market. Even
though we do not
have enough rice for 4. On-farm water management systems
sale next year, we More than 90 per cent of participants agreed that the water-
are still in a better management systems reduced the impacts of drought and long
dry spells. Almost 90 per cent believed that the systems were
situation when appropriate for women and children to use, although many
compared with other stated that improvements could be made to reduce the volume
farmers who did not of water carried from ponds to the vegetable gardens.
prepare themselves
for the drought of
this year.” Manoon Phupa, a farmer who joined the project, creatively
designed his own windmill pump from old billboard cut-outs to
Thongsa Juansang, Kham-kuen
Kaew district drain and irrigate water from a new well that Oxfam helped to
build. The new well, in addition to his existing pond, was used to
flood his paddy fields during the prolonged dry spells. He also
constructed dykes inside his paddy fields to drain water from
the pond to supply the paddies. Not only has he learned how
to grow rice with limited water, he has also diversified his food
Pictured left: A windmill is used to pump crops to include vegetables and fruit.
water into a large storage tank to supply
water to Manoon Phupa’s farm. Even though the droughts in 2008 were more severe than in
previous years, Manoon’s water-management system has
Pictured above right: Reducing helped him to gain higher yields of both jasmine rice and
dependence on fossil fuels, Orawan sticky rice for his household’s consumption, with a surplus for
Thongnoi, one of the farmers in the the market.
programme, designed and installed
her own hand-pump well in her
vegetable garden.
7

Thongsa Juansang, a farmer who has been practising organic
rice farming for several years (sticky rice for home consumption
and jasmine rice for commercial sale), has found that in the last
few years the rainfall patterns have changed. As a consequence
she has been experiencing low yields of both jasmine rice and
sticky rice.
Since joining the Oxfam project, her family has learned more
about the impacts of climate change and ways in which they
can adapt their farming methods. Her family has received a
small revolving fund from the project to improve the water-
supply system on their farm, which they used to dig a new well.
Like Manoon, they used a windmill-powered pump to supply
the paddies with water during the drought period. Their on-farm
water-supply system is simple, energy-efficient, and convenient
for women and children to use.
However, despite these improvements, the drought in 2008 was
too severe for Thongsa’s family and their rice paddies. Even with
their water-management system, they were unable to provide
enough water for all of the rice paddies, and they had to give
up jasmine rice farming, leaving only their sticky rice paddies.
Due to these extreme losses, women have had to work harder
to meet their families’ economic needs. “The lack of rain has
forced me to find extra income as a labourer on other people’s
farms. This is in addition to helping my husband to maintain the
paddy field and taking care of the home and children.” Thongsa
Juansang

Organic farming better than chemical farming
Outside the programme, organic-farming households produced
better yields than their chemical-intensive counterparts. This is
because organic plants, especially rice, are physically healthier
and stronger. Organic fields are also more fertile and can retain
more moisture.5 Chemical-intensive farms suffered losses of
50–90 per cent in 2008.

Lessons Learned
1. Participation of farmers in
every stage of the project
• The participation of farmers in all stages of the project was
high and contributed to the success of the project. As an
example, the satisfaction level on learning process support
was as high as 96.49 per cent, as a result of farmers’
participation in designing the learning process.
8

Pictured above: This water system • Of the farmers who took part in managing the budget of the water-
was designed with the needs of women
management fund, 100 per cent of project participants were able
in mind.
to return the money as agreed. The returned money will be lent to
new members to invest in their own water-management systems,
Pictured below left: Noograi Sangsri
weeding her vegetable garden.
and to existing members to develop their systems further.
• The participatory evaluation system enabled project participants to
work and learn together. Consequently, they could effectively solve
problems together as a group, rather than trying to cope alone.

2. Use of scientific data
Real and scientific data collected by farmers, government officials,
and scientists were important for all steps of project implementation.
The data helped project staff and farmers to understand and analyse
the situation and to select effective methods to adapt their farming
practices to climate change.

3. Loans for farmers
Loans to farmers should be small, so that the borrowers can repay
them without incurring further debt.

4. New knowledge
During project implementation, farmers were able to improve their
knowledge continually and apply this to their existing experience and
practice. This enabled them to design and implement appropriate and
effective farming and water-management systems.

Innovation that needs replication
The Oxfam and Earth Net Foundation climate-change adaptation
project was unique. It brought together local ‘know how’ with
NGO and academic expertise, resulting in mutual learning and
understanding on climate change and ways of reducing its impacts.
Through collaboration with the model communities, Oxfam has shown
that climate-adaptation projects can be implemented with limited
resources, and that what is most important is placing community
needs at the heart of everything that we do.
However, to achieve large-scale success, government and the public
sector need to provide financing and resources so that climate-
adaptation methodology can be adopted on a bigger scale.
9

What’s next?
Oxfam, in partnership with START, has produced a short film
documenting the project which is available from the Oxfam
website. We hope to use it to help to publicise and disseminate our
experiences to other relevant people and organisations. The film is
also being used for communicating with the provincial authority, in the
expectation that policy will be developed to further assist small-scale
farmers to adapt to climate change.
In terms of the programme itself, we are planning on a second phase,
which will:
1. increase the number of farmers participating in project activities;
2. provide additional training on climate change and its impacts,
including conducting farmer-to-farmer training;
3. seek and identify additional adaptation methods which are
appropriate for all family members: women, men, and children.
Oxfam, ENF, START, and Healthy Policy Foundation will also conduct
in-depth research on the project impacts, with the
following objectives:
1. To study the impact of climate change on rice production in
Yasothorn Province.
2. To compare the productivity, food security, and economic stability
of project and non-project families.
3. To provide strategic advice and guidelines for improving the
productivity of small-scale farms and their ability to adapt to Pictured above: Integrated farming
climate change. system: Moon Phonchai has diversified his
livelihood by raising poultry and fish, and
Lastly, Oxfam and ENF plan to conduct dialogue with local growing fruit and vegetables, alongside his
government authorities, the provincial governor, district and sub- paddy fields.
district administrative committees, including the Agriculture and
Cooperatives Bank, in order to secure support and resources for the
expansion of the project activities in Yasathorn Province, as well as
promoting policy change.

Thailand currently has a five-year National Agenda (2007–2012)
for climate-change management. Two of its six plans discuss the
impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector and consider the
kinds of adaptation method that are needed. These include providing
irrigation, developing drought-resistant crops, and forest conservation.
The Agenda explains the need to conduct low-carbon-intensive
agriculture, and the importance of educating the public about the
impacts of climate change on a range of agricultural commodities.
In support of the National Agenda on climate change, a National
Recommendation is being produced with the support of various
stakeholders, in addition to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It will contain a section
on ‘Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation’, which will provide more
concrete recommendations on the actions needed to combat climate
change in the agriculture sector. The National Recommendation is
scheduled to be finalised by 2010
10

Front cover image: Tending banana plants growing next to the paddy fields,
part of the crop diversification taking place as part of the programme.
Pictured above: A water storage point located in the middle of some thriving organic paddy fields.